Action

Indigenous rights in Brazil are under unprecedented attack. The government of President Michel Temer, which took power last year with the support of corrupt politicians, rural elites and big-business interests, knows that indigenous peoples defend their own territories better than anyone else. Driven by short-term economic interests, the Temer government and a conservative agribusiness lobby in the Brazilian Congress are besieging those rights on multiple fronts in order to turn the Amazon – a global treasure that sustains life on Earth, and the ancestral home of many indigenous peoples –

For years, critics of the Agua Zarca dam project in Honduras have been targeted by a campaign of violence, intimidation and outright murder. Then, on March 2, Berta Cáceres – vocal critic of the Agua Zarca Dam, Goldman Prize winner and mother of four – was brutally murdered in her home. Enough is enough. The Agua Zarca Dam – and the campaign of threats, violence and outright murder against critics of the project – has to stop. We demand that international dam builders and financiers immediately pull out of the Agua Zarca dam project, and not get involved in any other projects on indig

As a World Heritage Site, Kenya’s Lake Turkana stands among such treasures as the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall of China. Bit the lake is threatened by hydropower and irrigation schemes on the Omo River in neighboring Ethiopia. Take action now and ask the World Heritage Committee to add Lake Turkana as a World Heritage Site in Danger.

The future of the Mekong River and her people are in jeopardy as the government of Laos is barreling ahead with plans to build the Don Sahong Dam – endangering fish migration and consequently the food and livelihood security of millions. Sign the petition to call on Mekong governments to cancel the Don Sahong Dam.

Kober prison (Radio Dabanga) On September 23, 2014, Sudanese security forces detained Mr. Rashid Sheikh Eldin Abash, a peaceful Nubian activist who is fighting the destructive Kajbar and Dal dams on the Nile. Rashid Abash has been held in Kober prison without charges and without access to a lawyer or doctor ever since. According to witnesses, he has been repeatedly tortured. Rashid Abash's detention is the latest case in a long series of human rights abuses against dam fighters in Sudan. On November 20, 2014, International Rivers letter sent the attached letter to Sudan's Minister of Justice,

Sign a petition to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee urging them to take action against the construction of the Ilisu Dam on the Tigris River. It would impact the right to food and water of thousands of people, and threaten endangered species, the ancient town of Hasankeyf in Turkey, and the Iraqi Marshlands.

On October 2, without any provocation or warning, Indian police commandos showed up at Jiten Yumnam’s doorstep demanding his appearance at headquarters for questioning. The young activist has spent years rallying opposition to destructive dams and other projects to protect the rights of indigenous communities in the northeastern state of Manipur. The next day, Jiten voluntarily went to the police complex. His family feared the worst – they remembered the summer of 2009 when police commandos forcibly arrested Jiten, tortured him with electric shocks on the day of his arrest, and then arbitr

On December 16 and 17, World Bank member governments will meet in Moscow. They need to decide whether to fund more destructive dams or support clean, local energy solutions for poor communities. Please take action now to help our governments make the right choice – fund renewables, not dams!

Climate change is real and it’s happening now. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is our best chance to help developing countries transition to clean energy. GCF board members will meet May 18-21, so now is the time to let them know we want the Fund to stay away from dirty dams, coal, fracking and nuclear.

We have a real chance to save Patagonia from the destructive HidroAysén megadam project – but we must make our voices heard in the next 10 days. The Committee of Ministers will deliver a final ruling on appeals to the project before June 10. Then the ultimate authority to cancel the project lies with President Bachelet. This is our chance to finally bury HidroAysén for good! We’re on the brink of victory – and we can win.